Israeli lecturer charged over plot to kill hundreds of Palestinians and force mass expulsions
An Israeli mathematics lecturer has been indicted over an alleged plan to kill hundreds of Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the occupied territories, and force them from their homes.
Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the man, a professor at Bar-Ilan University in his 60s, was accused of developing a detailed plan for simultaneous attacks on Palestinian communities, Bedouin communities, and mixed cities, according to an indictment filed by prosecutors.
His name is under a court-imposed gag order.
Prosecutors allege that he planned to recruit 72 Jewish attackers, including himself, and divide them into 12 cells of six people.
The groups would have been armed with firearms, axes and hammers and would have launched coordinated attacks designed to cause mass casualties and spread fear, according to the indictment.
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The alleged targets included Palestinian citizens of Israel, Bedouin communities, Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Prosecutors say the objective was to cause Palestinians to flee or be permanently expelled towards Jordan, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
The lecturer allegedly called his plan "AIT," an acronym for the Hebrew phrase "the nation will carry out transfer".
According to the indictment, he began developing the plan in February 2023, following communal violence in Israel in 2021, and intensified his efforts after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
He allegedly conducted reconnaissance around the Bedouin community of Tuba-Zangariyye in northern Israel, examining possible routes into the community.
He also spent more than a year trying to recruit people to participate in the alleged attacks, but prosecutors said none agreed.
The lecturer is further accused of attempting to recruit far-right politician Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Zehut party, to help him find participants.
When Feiglin did not respond, prosecutors allege that the lecturer attempted to blackmail him, sending threatening letters and warning that he would publish them to damage the politician's reputation.
Feiglin and members of his party reported the threats to police, according to the indictment.
'I have exams to grade'
Prosecutors have asked the court to keep him in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings, arguing that his alleged ideology and the detailed nature of his preparations demonstrate that he poses an immediate danger.
The professor has asked to be released to house arrest.
However, during a court hearing, the lecturer argued that he was not currently a danger to anyone and sought permission to return home.
"I have exams to grade," he told the court, according to Ynet.
Bar-Ilan University said it had suspended him until the conclusion of the proceedings and condemned the allegations, saying it had "zero tolerance" for such conduct.
The case comes amid heightened concern over far-right violence and attacks against Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
Since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank have faced a sharp escalation in settler violence against them, including assaults, arson, property destruction and attacks on farmland and livestock.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since 2023.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 1,600 settler attacks resulting in Palestinian casualties, property damage or both were recorded between the beginning of January and 14 September.
Earlier this year, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory described the escalation in Israeli settler violence against Palestinians as unprecedented and sustained.
The commission said the Israeli government supports the attacks through financial backing, logistical assistance and military protection.
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